English update Term 1 in Senior School provided English and Literature students with rich cultural experiences across all years. Early in the term Year 9s enjoyed a memorable production of The Lion King. Then, as part of the Perth International Arts Festival, Literature students attended an innovative and confronting production of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck which enhanced their understanding of drama texts and the ways in which classic texts can be adapted. They continued their theatre education with an interesting adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock. To finish the term, Year 8 students immersed themselves in the fascinating Titanic Exhibition.
Aparna Jeganathan (Year 9) In February, all Year 9 girls had an opportunity to attend The Lion King. It was held at Crown Theatre Perth. We were all excited to watch the musical as we had all heard the great reviews. We were also all on the edge of our seat throughout the performance as it made us all involved. I thought that The Lion King musical was very interesting and perfectly executed. The fusion of catchy music, amazing dialogue and excellent choreography led to a most enjoyable experience. Each actor took up the persona of the character so well that it was as beautiful as the film. The special effects made the performance more thrilling and exquisite. Everyone that I talked to after the musical raved about how good it was: it was an amazing experience that we will surely never forget.
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St Hilda’s Ammonite
Katie Frazier (Year 8) When you think of a shipwreck, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the Titanic. If you’ve ever longed to stroll through the ship in all of its former glory, you might be a little jealous that the Year 8 Cohort had that opportunity. In March, we made our way down to the Perth Convention Centre during school hours to see the Titanic themed exhibition. We wandered through hallways, lined with photographs, stories and information, before finally stepping up the gangplank and boarding the ill-fated cruise liner. We were greeted by the tall, charismatic captain, decked out in fine white uniform and presented him with our boarding passes, which contained information about which passenger each person was. The captain was eager to tell us about who we were and how we fared on our journey. We strolled through the exhibits, passing by the majestic staircase and chandelier and stopping to take a picture with the unsinkable Molly Brown. Feeling quite tired after all the excitement, we made our way to our rooms: the first class travelling through halls of plush red carpet and white painted walls to their luxurious suites, complete with couches and four-poster beds; the second and third class passengers arriving to much humbler affairs. We all knew what was coming when we passed into the dimly lit section of the exhibition where a giant, freezing cold iceberg glittered proudly to one side and the follies of captain and crew were written across the walls. With a little trepidation, we approached the lists of survivors. Many of us were lucky; some were not. Perhaps the highlight of the excursion was the next section of the exhibition which featured the interpretations and media portrayals of the Titanic’s sinking. The well-known movie, starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, was given a large section. At school, we were able to use these experiences to write a postcard and a short story from the perspective of a passenger. Viewing the Titanic exhibition was a fantastic experience, not only stimulating our creative writing skills but also giving us a greater insight into the infamous tragedy.